Discursive Intro - HigherEnglishMrDempsey

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Two pieces of writing form different genres.
One reflective/ creative
One discursive / persuasive
One fifth of total award
will treat a topic or issue in a way which presents a line of
argument, dealing with two or more varying viewpoints.
The main requirements of the argumentative essay are that
it will:
♦ communicate a clear and balanced line of argument
♦ present two sides of an argument (or more, if applicable)
♦ distinguish between facts and opinions
♦ convey an argumentative tone which is measured,
reasonable and yet carries personal conviction
♦ communicate to the reader a clear sense that the writer
has weighed up different aspects of the argument before
reaching conclusions
♦ make effective use of a number of argumentative
techniques such as comparison,contrast, confirmation,
refutation, counter-argument, proof, disproof.
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Strong sense of engagement with the
ideas/issues and a sophisticated understanding
of them
The line of thought is subtle and sustained;
The writer’s stance permeates the ideas and use
of language.
The structure is highly appropriate and there is
skilful organisation which significantly enhances
the overall impact of the writing.
Expression is concise and effective. Word choice
is consistently apposite, and sentence structures
are skilfully varied to achieve effects.
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Introduces your topic.
Gives a clear indication of your stance.
Perhaps indicates some of your reasons in
support.
Could use a specific example of your topic.
Must engage the reader by being written in a
stylish manner.
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Read the introductions.
Give each a rating out of ten.
Make notes on the following: topic; stance;
techniques used to involve/ persuade the
reader; other language features.
Is there anything that could be improved?
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Every one of us owes a debt to Julian Assange.
Thanks to him, we now know that our governments
are pursuing policies that place you and your
family in considerably greater danger. Wikileaks
has informed us they have secretly launched war
on yet another Muslim country, sanctioned torture,
kidnapped innocent people from the streets of free
countries and intimidated the police into hushing it
up, and covered up the killing of 15,000 civilians –
five times the number killed on 9/11. Each one of
these acts has increased the number of jihadis. We
can only change these policies if we know about
them – and Assange has given us the black-andwhite proof.
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Every one of us owes a debt to Julian Assange.
Thanks to him, we now know that our governments
are pursuing policies that place you and your
family in considerably greater danger. Wikileaks
has informed us they have secretly launched war
on yet another Muslim country, sanctioned torture,
kidnapped innocent people from the streets of free
countries and intimidated the police into hushing it
up, and covered up the killing of 15,000 civilians –
five times the number killed on 9/11. Each one of
these acts has increased the number of jihadis. We
can only change these policies if we know about
them – and Assange has given us the black-andwhite proof.
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Write your own introduction.
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Must deal with both sides of the argument.
Must look at a variety of reasons, both for
and against.
Deal with one reason, or one aspect of a
reason, per paragraph.
Try to develop a line of thought/ argument.
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Must give a clear indication of the
paragraph’s focus.
Should demonstrate linkage/ development of
your ideas.
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One of the main complaints seems to have
been that Ronnie’s actions conform to some
deranged stereotype of the bereaved mother
following a loss to a cot death.
It’s not only the influence of the mass media
which should be celebrated, the phenomenon
that is Social Networking deserves equal
praise.
But Gordon Ramsay has never had a
particular "problem feature" and he's certainly
never been perfect. He's joyfully imperfect.
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Write a topic sentence for your first
paragraph after your introduction.
This paragraph should deal with your first
reason in support of your stance.
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Give explanations, opinions, statistics.
Point
Evidence
Analysis
Link
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Sentence structure
Word choice
Imagery
Tone
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Variety of simple and complex sentences.
Short sentences for brevity or emphasis.
Long sentences to suggest an overwhelming
amount or extreme duration.
Use of colons to introduce examples/ lists /
explanations.
Use of semi-colons to balance points/ divide
items in a complex list.
Use of parenthesis for asides / to give
additional information.
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Repetition to stress key words or phrases /
suggest a monotonous experience.
Rhetorical Questions to involve the reader.
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Power is abused in our name by governments and
transnational corporations around the world: they
fight illegal wars; abuse and kill people; pillage
property and planet. The powerful accumulate
wealth and force the majority – the rest of us – to
pay for it: with our health, our freedom, our time,
our money and with our lives. For a long time, we
have been deceived about the reasons for this: it is
our right for the truth to be known. Without that
right, democracy cannot and does not exist. The
current assault on WikiLeaks is yet another
instance of democracy-hating by elites.
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One reason given for banning Orange Walks
is that there are far too many of them. People
have complained that they are on almost
every week. The number of walks increases
very year, they claim.
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Tri colon: series of three parallel words,
phrases, or clauses. It's a simple enough
structure, yet potentially a powerful one.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.“
American Declaration of Independence
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Alcohol abuse in Scotland leads to broken homes,
violent streets and early deaths.
Scottish football looks on enviously at it
glamorous, rich and popular neighbour.
WikiLeaks are looking to support truth, freedom
and democracy.
Consumption of drugs is rife in Britain today;
hundreds of thousands of clubbers choose ecstasy
to accompany their weekend; heroin refuses to
loosen its grip on vast numbers of addicts;
smokers now light up in their designated outside
areas.
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Write a tri colon which illustrates a point in
your essay.
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Do not use too many.
Keep them short
Type one- recent quotation from someone
directly discussing this topic.
Introduce the person.
You may even wish to paraphrase some or all
of what they say.
Analyse the importance of what they say.
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Author Denise Mina says though people are often
appalled by what she puts in her crime fiction, at
least they can put it down. She thinks EastEnders’
cot death plot may indeed have been too dark.
“People watch Corrie and EastEnders with one eye
on the tea,” she says, “so maybe it’s too heavy for
that.” This underlines that there is indeed a place
for dealing with the darker aspects of humanity.
However, an early evening light entertainment
vehicle is not it.
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Point: The Eastenders’ storyline is not nearly
as crass and insensitive as made out.
Quote: “As ludicrous as some of the twists
were ... at the story’s centre was a grief much
more understated than the hype would have
you expecting, and one that felt very
authentic.”
Source: Alex Hardy in The Times
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Use these to help identify a line of thought
/argument, rather than illustrate it.
Demonstrate the correlation with your topic.
As former US president Thomas Jefferson
once stated, "information is the currency of
democracy". Democracy – the rule of the
people – as currently understood and
practiced is, and has long been, severely
restricted.
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Try to use some facts and figures.
Don’t overload your essay with them.
They should illustrate/ support your point.
Ensure that you analyse the information.
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One aspect of social networking that cannot
be debated is its popularity: in the UK alone,
a staggering twenty five million people are
now registered with the Social Networking
site; in the world there are an 500 million
“Facebookers.” This latter figure becomes all
the more overwhelming when we consider
that it is one hundred times larger than the
whole population of Scotland.
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Point: The British taxpayers will have to pay a
large amount towards the Royal Wedding.
Numbers: between 20 and 80 million.